The Yum Factor

 

Himself just whipped a loaf of banana bread using a couple bananas that ripened waaaaay too fast.

It is nice being married to a baker!

Fresh Tomatoes

One of life’s great pleasures is munching a warm off-of-the-vine tomato.  And I am the worst at growing tomatoes!

 I decided to try again- with cherry tomatoes this time.

 

It’s working!

 

This just makes me happy.

 

Wonderful treats.

Absolutely True

 

When Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

 

For the last couple of days we have been stuck inside because of the Canadian wildfire smoke.  It is not bad here, tho the air is definitely "different".

Hibiscus Ikebana

 

A branch hanging too low over our sidewalk becomes a lovely ikebana arrangement.

Day 1 of My 61st Year

 

I Think I'm Becoming a Minimalist

 

I am finding myself becoming really annoyed with the amount of things I (personally) have stashed in tubs.  Certain “stash” is good… building supplies, light bulbs, and so on.  But tubs of unknown trinkets, odds & ends, impulse buys, and no longer used décor has become - in my mind - stupid to have.  

There is definitely levels of minimalism.  It doesn’t just mean Spartan, tho if you Google minimalist images about all you get are photos of white rooms with a tiny bit of white furniture.  Ummm… No.  Basically each person has to work out what it means to them.  It is usually a continuously evolving process; that is definitely true for me.  

So I am at it again.  

My two biggest stash areas are my studio and the garage.  Over this summer’s hot and miserable days I intend to cull thru until I have ZERO anonymous tubs of ‘stuff’.  And my creative stash will take a huge hit as I am working hard on learning to focus.  Too many squirrels! 

 

 

FedUp with FedEx

I am DONE with receiving… or NOT receiving.... deliveries via FedEx.

 Last week I had four deliveries from Walmart for things they don’t have IN the store anymore.  So aggravating. 

 The first delivery was on the 3rd.  Delivery notice said “Delivered to front door”.

 

Apparently I live in my mailbox…

 On the 5th was my second delivery.

 

I do not have a deck with wrought iron chairs.  I don’t have a deck at all. (Next day a sweet young man knocked on my door with my package that had been delivered to his house… which isn’t even on my road!)

 I tried contacting FedEx about the issue.  Their customer dis-service is set up the be 100% robo agent loops back to “contact your shipper”. 

 I found an article titled “Why Is FedEx So Bad? (11 Reasons Why Customers Are Fed Up)”.  One reason was “Perhaps one of the most common complaints customers have about FedEx is that delivery drivers lie about delivery attempts.”  Yep.   Then there was “Customers have recorded FedEx drivers throwing and dropping packages. Understandably, this leads to ripped packaging and damaged items.”  Try YouTube search for FedEx Delivery Fails (last year FedEx threw a DVD player in our ditch AND “lost” a microwave.  Yeh right, some FedEx jerk has a new microwave!!)  Also, FedEx delivery drivers are not FedEx employees.  They are lowest bid contractors.  You get what you pay for…

 On the 7 th my last two deliveries arrived.

 

Seems my “front door” is still my mailbox.  At least the blasted jerk got it to my address!

 Four for four deliveries screwed up.

 This radically changes my online shopping.  I will be checking delivery method with every order.  If it is FedEx; the order gets cancelled!  There will be no more Walmart delivery either.  They use ONLY FedEx to ship.  That sucks.

 

Passion

 

We’ve just discovered a Passion Flower is rowing in our LAWN.  Silly thing is a vine, it should be going up a tree!  There are some up the hill along the fence row.  I've tried to get to the fruit but the deer always beat me to them.  This year I am going to put a small cage around a couple to protect them so I have a chance at a share.

 

The flower is amazing.  It is so delicate.  I'm going to protect this one in the yard for transplanting when it cools.  Supposedly they make a nice container plant.  It would make an amazing addition to my potted plant bed. 

The name comes from references to the last days of Jesus...

The pointed tips of the leaves were taken to represent the Holy Lance.

The tendrils represent the whips used in the flagellation of Christ.

 The flower's radial filaments, which can number more than a hundred and vary from flower to flower, represent the crown of thorns. 

The chalice-shaped ovary with its receptacle represents the Holy Grail. 

The three stigmas represent three nails and the five anthers below them five hammers or five wounds (four by the nails and one by the lance). 

The blue and white colors of many species' flowers represent Heaven and Purity. 

In addition, the flower is open for three days, symbolizing the three years of Jesus' ministry.

 

A Dinosaur In Our Yard

 We had a fun surprise the other day while working on repotting.  Himself was cleaning a pot and something ran out from under his hand.  It was a BIG lizard… a type we have never seen here before.

 

We looked him up and discovered we had a Broadhead Skink.

 

After admiring him for a while, we showed him to Persia.

  

She would have gone into orbit if it had moved at that moment!!

 He has been released close to where we found him.  Hope we see him again!